New Delhi, 01 October (H.S.): Kerala BJP president and legislator Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Thursday launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during a press conference at the BJP’s central office, criticising his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and questioning his political approach.

Chandrasekhar alleged that over the past 12 years, Rahul Gandhi’s contribution to Indian democracy had been limited to spreading what he described as lies, misinformation and disorder. He said that Gandhi’s use of terms such as “traitor” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi reflected the nature of his politics.

Describing Rahul Gandhi’s political approach as “fraud” and a “politics of lies”, Chandrasekhar claimed that the Congress leader had no positive message for either the country or Kerala. He said this was the reason he had described Gandhi as a “fraud” and added that he stood by his remarks.

Chandrasekhar also questioned Rahul Gandhi’s statements regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Kerala. He said Gandhi had described Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as a “BJP agent” and had portrayed the SIR exercise as being against democracy.

Chandrasekhar claimed that Ramesh Chennithala, then Kerala Home Minister and a Congress leader, had publicly acknowledged that the SIR exercise had helped remove bogus voters from electoral rolls. He said the integrity of electoral rolls was essential for ensuring free and fair elections.

Referring to Gyanesh Kumar, Chandrasekhar said that the Chief Electoral Officer who conducted the SIR exercise in Kerala is now serving as the Principal Secretary to the Kerala Chief Minister. He said the BJP would not, on that basis, describe the concerned official as a Congress agent, arguing that democratic discourse requires an understanding of the political boundaries that should not be crossed.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar